Do Girls Benefit from Attending an All-Girls’ School?

By Mary Willis

This is a question that has been asked for many, many years. Comprehensive research conducted over the past two decades has provided us with an answer, at last. Yes, academic performance of girls (ages 12-20) ranks much higher for those attending an all-girls’ school versus those in a co-educational environment.

When Kids Bully Other Kids At School

By Lisa Dunning, MFT

For many kids, school is a great place to learn, socialize and build self-esteem. But for a child who is the victim of a bully, school can be a place of terror. It's important for a parent to know the warning signs of bullying. If ignored, a child's school experience, self-esteem and even their life can be in jeopardy.

Troubled Teens in the Wilderness Learn to Love Learning

By: Hugh C. McBride

There aren’t a lot of textbooks in the Idaho desert, but Sean Tomkinson, a therapist with SUWS Adolescent and Youth Programs, believes that the students who spend weeks in that wilderness environment emerge more motivated and better prepared to pursue academic success when they return to the classroom.

Changing the Lives of Teens Through the Power of Choice: A Strength-Based Model in Wilderness Therapy

By Meghan Vivo

Outback is a progressive wilderness therapy program for adolescents ages 13 to 17 struggling with problems such as oppositional defiance, academic underachievement, low self-esteem, depression, substance abuse, and other behavioral and emotional issues that operates under the philosophy that we all have a choice as to what we’ll make of our lives.

Modern Rites of Passage in the Wilderness: Guiding Young People to a Sober Adulthood

By Meghan Vivo

Much of what you read about wilderness therapy speaks of the life skills young people learn in the wilderness, such as communication, teamwork, and understanding natural consequences, which teach them to build positive relationships and pull themselves out of the pitfalls of adolescence. And all of that is certainly true. But equally, if not more important, is the broader opportunity in wilderness therapy for young people to mark their transition into adulthood.

Screening For Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol-Related Problems in College Populations

New-found independence can sometimes be dangerous: Alcohol use and abuse among college students is a serious cause for concern. Many students are under the legal drinking age and many engage in heavy episodic, or binge, drinking. There are a variety of simple screening methods that can help identify those students at greatest risk for alcohol problems so that preventative steps can be taken before it's too late.

Depression in the Teen Years

Before adolescence, there is little difference in the rate of depression in boys and girls. But between the ages of 11 and 13 there is a precipitous rise in depression rates for girls. By the age of 15, females are twice as likely to have experienced a major depressive episode as males.

Parenting Teenagers Doesn’t Have To Be Tough

By Kirsten Beutuhin, LMFT

No matter how good your relationship is with your child, it is going to change when your child hits adolescence. A parent can experience a great deal of stress as their teenager begins to face the many challenges and changes that adolescence entails. Teenagers can be moody, critical, argumentative, and absent-minded, but they are also creative, energetic, and passionate about the world and their place in it.

The Last Straw: How to Reach Your Teen When You Feel You've Tried Everything

By Darin Geiger, M.A.

The key to helping struggling teens is early intervention. Early intervention requires taking action and getting to the root of your teen's problem. If you feel like the situation is at an impasse, help from an outside source, such as a therapist, may be necessary.

A Kink In The Hose

By Judy Martin, MFT

Throughout the years of parenting my difficult oldest daughter, overdoing and sacrifice have been a means of convincing myself that I’m a good mother and a good person...But I've come to realize that my deeply ingrained beliefs about the inappropriateness of selfishness have too often caused me to trade my own happiness for my daughter’s.

Size Zero

By Emily Battaglia

Despite much research and discussion, the root causes of eating disorders are still not fully understood. Several risk factors have been cited, including genetics, personality, and external stressors. One of the most significant influences, however, is the American society’s evolving ideal for the feminine form.

Equine Therapy: How Horses Help Troubled Teens Build Better Lives

By Hugh C. McBride

For decades, horses have been employed in therapeutic programs throughout the United States, where they have helped thousands of people overcome serious physical and emotional challenges. For adolescents who suffer from social or developmental disorders, equine therapy can offer life-changing opportunities to work through internal struggles and rebuild positive interpersonal relationships.

Staying Fit for Life: Behavioral Change for Lasting Weight Loss

An Interview with Samanthia Gaspar, PsyD.--By Meghan Vivo

In the past, many families turned to “fat camps” to help their teens lose weight. Although some campers experienced significant weight loss, most gained the weight back when they returned home. Research now supports a new generation of “fit camps” or weight loss camps, which have achieved remarkable long-term results.

Helping Your Kids Say "No" to Marijuana—Even If You Didn’t

If your child asks whether you ever used marijuana and your honest answer is "yes," you don’t have to provide a graphically detailed account. Instead, use your child’s curiosity about your personal history as an opportunity to talk about questions and concerns they may be having about marijuana, as well as the use and abuse of other drugs and substances.

The Compelling Power of Cliques

Ideally, belonging to a set group of friends or "clique" can help a teen feel capable, cool and in control. Sometimes, however, the power of social cliques casts a dark shadow.

Teen Dreams

By, Donna C. Moss, MA, LCSW-R

Pretend you are 16 again. What did you do every day? Every summer? Did you have a carefree beach roaming adventure or did you go to a programmed summer camp of competitive sports? It doesn’t matter. You see, you had something to do. Why is this most basic of human needs so elusive that it causes paralyzing depression in young people? I’ll tell you why.

An Easy Way to Keep Your Teen from Using Drugs or Alcohol

Parenting teens is rarely easy, so take advantage of a simple technique to greatly increase the odds that your teen will not experiment with drugs and alcohol: Eat dinner together, five or more times each week, as a family. Turn off the cell phones and the Blackberries, and talk to one another.

Treating “Peter Pan Syndrome” with Wilderness Therapy

By Meghan Vivo

The “Peter Pan Syndrome” is a common phenomenon witnessed by parents: young people in their late teens and twenties who look like adults on the outside, but are still teenagers on the inside. Often, these young adults get caught up with “partying” and staying out all hours of the night, resisting the responsibilities of adulthood and glorifying the “freedom” of adolescence.

How to Prepare Teens with Asperger’s Syndrome for Life’s Challenges

An Interview with Sue Coble, Ph.D.--By Catherine H. Knott, Ph.D.

Should young people with Asperger’s be advised to avoid certain pursuits that depend heavily on social interaction? Or should they be coached to try, even if jobs in those fields may be more difficult for them? Sue Coble, professor of psychology at the University of Alaska and Kenai Peninsula College, answers these questions and others, based on many years of Asperger’s and autism research.

Which Came First: Marijuana Use or Depression?

By Meghan Vivo

Marijuana has adverse effects on the brain, heart, and lungs--and mounting evidence also suggests a correlation between marijuana use and depression. The question experts on all sides want answered is, which came first? Marijuana use or depression? Do depressed teens smoke pot to relieve their symptoms, or does smoking pot actually cause depression?

Why Women Have Trouble With Self-Confidence...

By Colette Dowling, LMSW

Women actually learn low self-confidence; they're trained for it. Studies show that girls--especially smarter ones--have severe problems with self-confidence. They consistently underestimate their own ability.

Understanding the Need to Say "NO" to Your Children

By Jill MacDonald, MA, LPC

I don’t know anyone who would say they enjoy hearing the word “NO.” And children especially dislike it. However, as a therapist and parent I know that saying (and hearing) “no” is a vital and positive part of our lives.

Getting Kids to Listen

by Dr. Marge Blaine

Problems with kids fall into a number of categories. These include difficulties with homework, siblings, and household chores. Homework often presents the greatest source of conflict, but is often easiest to solve.

10 Things Every Parent Should Know to Help Keep Their Teens Safe

By Linda Laffey, MFT

The adolescent brain is changing, beginning to think abstractly for the first time. Abstract thinking is a requirement for problem solving, and teens need to master this skill to make it in the adult world. This evolution to abstract thinking helps explain why teens now challenge their parents’ opinions, limits and rules, why they turn more to their peers for advice, and why they separate physically and emotionally from their parents.

Don’t Let the Fear of Screwing Up Your Kids Screw You Up As A Parent

By Mitchell Milch, MSW

Let’s face it, we all want to avoid making the same mistakes raising our kids we believe our parents or surrogate parents made raising us. This is especially the case when we still hold grudges toward parents for what has or has not become of us.

As Community Members, What Can We Do To Help Prevent School Violence?

As a result of recent school violence tragedies, fear of youth crime has skyrocketed and wondering just what can be done to help has left many of us in a quandary...The best thing each and every one of us can do to strengthen the lives of our community's children--even those of us who don't have kids of our own or whose kids are no longer of school age--is to make sure we find ways to offer real and tangible evidence that we care.

Marijuana Facts For Teens

Get answers to some of the questions about marijuana most commonly asked by teens, including what are the short- and long-term effects of using marijuana; what effect does it have on regular activities, such as driving, studying, and sports; what does using marijuana do to the brain and to the body; how addictive is it; and what can you do to get help if you want to stop using.

Link Between Teen Smoking and Anxiety Disorders

Can smoking directly affect emotional health? A recent study offers evidence of an association between cigarette smoking during the teen years and developing anxiety disorders during adolescence and early adulthood.

Helping Kids Navigate Their Teenage Years: When Parents Need Help First

Parents can do much to help their teenage sons or daughters through a variety of difficult situations. Depression, violence, substance abuse, and bullying are all serious issues that parents and teens can work together to help resolve. Sometimes, however, parents need to confront their own problems before they can help their teenager.

National Survey Tracks Rates of Common Mental Disorders Among American Youth

Only about half of American children and teenagers who have certain mental disorders receive professional services, according to a nationally representative survey funded in part by the National Institute of Mental Health. The survey also provides a comprehensive look at the prevalence of common mental disorders.

Long-term Depression Treatment Leads to Sustained Recovery for Most Teens

Long-term treatment of adolescents with major depression is associated with continuous and persistent improvement of depression symptoms in most cases.

New Approach to Reducing Suicide Attempts Among Depressed Teens

Youth who attempt suicide are particularly difficult to treat because they often leave treatment prematurely, and no specific interventions exist that reliably reduce suicidal thinking and behavior (suicidality). In addition, these teens often are excluded from clinical trials testing depression treatments.

Re-shaping Negative Thoughts Shields At-Risk Teens from Depression

At-risk teens exposed to a program that teaches them to counteract their unrealistic and overly negative thoughts experienced significantly less depression than their peers who received usual care.

Getting Closer to Personalized Treatment for Teens with Treatment-resistant Depression

Some teens with treatment-resistant depression are more likely than others to get well during a second treatment attempt of combination therapy, but, as a newly-released study details, various factors can hamper their recovery.

College Student Drinking--the Challenges for Their Schools and Communities

When student deaths, injuries, or brawls occur on campus, the response tends to be immediate and focused largely on the individual students and families involved. Once the crisis recedes, there is little incentive to consider either the root causes of such events or their broader implications.

Downward Trend in Teen Marijuana Use Slows; Prescription Drug Abuse Remains High

Just-released 2008 survey results reinforce the fact that we cannot become complacent in our efforts to persuade teens not to smoke, drink or abuse illicit substances. As long as young people are being exposed to images that make taking drugs seem glamorous, we need to counter them with truthful messages about the risks and consequences of drug abuse.

Beating Addiction: Help for Teen Girls

An Interview with Laurie Wilmot, LCSW—By Meghan Vivo

At an age when most kids are breaking away from their parents, exploring their career interests, and establishing lifelong bonds with friends and partners, teens who are addicted to drugs or alcohol face an entirely different challenge just to get back to normal adolescent life.

How Teachers Can Help Kids Cope With Traumatic Events

By Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D.

It's appropriate to talk about the recent terrorist attacks and the aftermath of grief and confusion in the classroom. But it's not appropriate to turn each class into an unstructured group therapy session. There should be open, honest, and accurate discussion in classes that is directed and contained by the teacher. Once this initial period of grief has subsided, try to keep discussions focused on aspects relevant to the content of your curriculum.

Preventing Drug Abuse Among Children and Adolescents--Risk Factors and Protective Factors

Research over the past two decades has tried to determine how drug abuse begins and how it progresses. Many factors can add to a person’s risk for drug abuse. Risk factors can increase a person’s chances for drug abuse, while protective factors can reduce the risk. Risk and protective factors can affect children at different stages of their lives.

How to Tell If It's Anorexia

Tabloids detailing the lives of celebrities--as well as many of the more private and unpublished stories about those in our communities, our families, and even ourselves--continue to highlight the persistent and dangerous prevalence of anorexia. The most noticeable features of anorexia are a progressively drastic loss in weight, and changes in behavior that become obsessional.

Club Drugs Aren't "Fun Drugs"

By Alan I. Leshner, Ph.D.

"Raves" or all-night dance parties continue to attract teens and young adults who may think Ecstasy, GHB, Rohypnol, and other club drugs are harmless. While researchers continue to study club drugs with a sense of urgency, treatment and prevention strategies are being developed. The bottom line is simple: even experimenting with club drugs is an unpredictable and dangerous thing to do.

Kids in a Difficult World...

Arguments are waged as to the management of children who attempt suicide, commit crimes or even those who are abandoned and neglected. Our society has impoverished resources to answer such questions and while some hospitals are available, all too often the answer is prison. Research has demonstrated, however, that children do not need to be hospitalized or incarcerated to get the help they need.

Psychiatric Disorders Common Among Detained Youth

Among teens in juvenile detention, nearly two thirds of boys and nearly three quarters of girls have at least one psychiatric disorder, a federally funded study has found. These rates dwarf the estimated 15 percent of youth in the general population thought to have psychiatric illness, placing detained teens on a par with those at highest risk, such as maltreated and runaway youth.

Preventative Therapy During and After Divorce Can Help Protect Young Kids and Teens

About 1.5 million young kids and teens experience the divorce of their parents each year--ultimately 40 percent of the nation’s children. While most adapt well, a significant percentage are especially vulnerable to developing mental health problems, suffering impaired educational attainment, and experiencing difficulties later on in life with socioeconomic and family well-being.

New Report Finds More Than 13% of America’s Teens Think Suicide

According to a just-released government survey--the first of its kind ever done--three million American teenagers have thought seriously about or even attempted suicide. Depression--a treatable condition--is considered the main cause of suicidal thoughts. Only 36% of the teens who considered suicide in 2000 received mental health treatment or counseling…

Explanation of IQ Tests

By Dr. William Ralph

Standard IQ tests attempt to sample a rather large number of intellectual functions. Each one of these samplings is called a subtest. The final IQ score is an average of the subtest scores. Consequently, a person may score very high on some subtests and quite poorly on others while still receiving an average overall score. This is one reason that a simple IQ score can paint a very misleading picture of the person's true intellectual functioning.

Preventing Drug Abuse: The Best Strategy

In early adolescence, when children advance from elementary through middle school, they face new and challenging social and academic situations. Often during this period, children are exposed to abusable substances such as cigarettes and alcohol for the first time. When they enter high school, teens may encounter greater availability of drugs, drug abuse by older teens, and social activities where drugs are used.

Understanding How Wilderness Therapy Programs Change Teens

By Meghan Vivo

“I often see the greatest progress in students after someone has drawn a boundary with them or they have gone through some sort of struggle,” explains Lynn Anne Madory, a therapist at Aspen Achievement Academy, one of the oldest and most reputable wilderness programs in the nation. “Parents get nervous when their child has a tough week, but that’s when the growth happens."

Hooked on Pills: What Parents Need to Know About Prescription and OTC Drug Abuse

An Interview with Arianne Power, CD Counselor, By Meghan Vivo

Arianne Powell, a chemical dependency counselor at SageWalk the Wilderness School, has some strong advice for parents of adolescents: “More teens than ever before are abusing prescription and over-the-counter drugs. It’s time to take precautions in your own home. You could be providing your children with something that could kill them.”

The Future of Teen Addiction Treatment--Trends and Predictions from Jeff Nalin, Psy.D.

By Meghan Vivo

In this article, Jeff Nalin, Psy.D., co-founder and executive director of Echo Malibu, an innovative residential treatment program for adolescents in Malibu, California, weighs in on the trends in teen-focused substance abuse treatment programs and makes predictions about what changes we can anticipate in the years ahead.

Teen Substance Abuse: What Parents Don’t Know Could Hurt Their Kids

By Meghan Vivo

The teenage years are all about developing a personal identity. As part of this period of self-exploration, many teens will break rules, defy authority, and possibly experiment with drugs and alcohol. To help parents determine whether their child may have a problem with drugs or alcohol, Laurie Wilmot, LCSW, provides responses to some of parents’ most common questions.

Prescription Painkiller Abuse on the Rise With Teens

According to a newly-released national study, today's teens are more likely to abuse a prescription painkiller or other prescription medication as a means of getting high than they are to experiment with illegal drugs.

It’s Twice as Strong Today…

Even if you experimented with pot when you were younger, there’s nothing hypocritical about trying to keep your kids off of it now. Reliable and consistent evidence indicates today’s marijuana is more than twice as powerful on average than it was twenty years ago. With twice the concentration of THC, marijuana is now capable of causing double the damage.

Students: Are You Concerned That a Friend's Recent "Down" Behavior Might Be Depression?

The high school and college years can be complicated and demanding. So, it isn't surprising that from time to time you or one of your friends feels "down" or discouraged. But what about those times when a friend's behavior and outlook on life seems to remain depressed for weeks?

Divorce and a Child's Disruptive Behavior

Marital breakup is never easy on anyone. But when parting parents put their child in the middle, work against or undermine each other and compete with one another, they can expect their offspring to suffer emotionally and/or behaviorally. The best predictor of a positive outcome for a kid is when divorcing parents cooperate with each other--at least where their child is concerned.

Negative Peer Pressure: How to Help Kids Say "No" and Still Keep Their Friends

By Sharon Scott, LPC, LMFT

When parents hear the words "peer pressure" their faces usually take on a worried, concerned expression. Many of us tend to have assumptions about the phrase that may or may not be accurate. Parents are encouraged to read this article and take the true-or-false "peer pressure quiz" to gain insight into their up-to-date awareness of this important subject.

Suicidal Thinking May Be Predicted Among Certain Teens with Depression

"Because the suicidal events tended to happen early in the treatment process, interventions that address safety, emotion regulation and family conflict should be some of the first to be implemented."

Family Support and Good Grades Can Offset Teen Suicide Risks

According to a nationwide study published in the March 2001 issue of Pediatrics that was the result of interviews with more than 13,000 students ages 10 to 19, family support and good grades are among the top factors that can offset risks for teen suicide.

Preventing Destructive Teen Behavior by Harnessing the Power of Their Peers

Tragic events such as school shootings have presented us with images of adolescent aggressive and antisocial behavior. There is a national search for answers. Fortunately, a long-term commitment to basic behavioral research at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is now paying off with the development and implementation of interventions to address these vexing problems.